Action mechanism for pianos and like instruments



May 12, 1925.y

J. T: RYDBERG ACTION NEcNANrsN FOR PIANos AND LIKE INSTRUMENTS Filed March 11. 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nn alf@ May l2, 1925. 1,53 7,885

J. T. RYDBERG ACTION IIECHANISM FOR PIANOS AND LIKE INSTRUMENTS Filed March 11, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 HornMA n Patented May 12, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN T. RYDBERG, OF HARRISON, NEWJERSEY, ASSIGrNOR7 BY DIRECT AND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO 'SUPREME PLAYER ACTION CORPORATION, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

ACTION MECHANISM FOR PIANOS AND LIKE INSTRUMENTS.

Applicationled March 11, 1924.

T0 all whom t may concern.'

Beit known that I, JOHN T. R'Ynnnne, a citizen of the United States, residing at .Harrisom in the county of Hudson and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Action Mechanisms for Pianos and like Instruments, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to improvements in piano or organ action mechanisms and its purpose is the introduction therein of anovel construction, arrangement or mounting of certain parts such that manufacturing production is greatly increased, assembling operations materially facilitated, and the adaptation thereof made substantially universal with respect to known or standard makes of instruments.

More specifically speaking, and referring to a particular exemplification in which the principles of my invention are involved, it is quite well established in the manufacture of pneumatic or player actions for pianos which involvea large number of pneumatics and valves, that the first requisite'is the determination of the scale of the piano to which the action is to be applied, for the different makes of instruments employ dit ferent scales. After this has been ascertained the valve and pouch boards may be constructed, the passages and portsk bored, and the pneumatics fixed in relation thereto upon lthe basis of the particular scale of instrument for which the action is desired, so that it is impracticable to manufacture these actions except in specific quantities contracted for.

On the other hand, with my invention it is entirely practicable to adopt an arbitrary and universal construction of valve and pouch board, adjustably mount thereon the necessary pneumatics, finger flanges etc., and later fix these parts in their particular relation yto each other upon the receipt of an order from a piano manufacturer, to accord withthe known or standard scale of his instruments. This is accomplished by employing a slidable finger flange capable of being adjustable with relation to its support to` coact properly with the hammer action instrumentalities of the piano and fixing said flanges in this position, and a pivotal mounting for the pneulnatics such that they may be adgusted about theaxis of thelr air Serial No. 698,440.

ports to accord with the positioning of the fingers and the finger fianges coacting therewith.

The benefits ofv this construction are greatly enhanced by the use of a special material and method of fixing the parts which is set forth and claimed in my companion application for improvements in piano actions, Serial Number 695,087 filed February 25, 1924.

The advantages of this invention can best be appreciated when it is understood that the manufacture of player actions for pianos is today a distinct line of manufacture wholly independent practically of the manufacture of the instruments themselves, and so long as there is no general standardization of the latter, player action manufacturers can not get into quantity production.

lVith the foregoing in view, this invention will be more clearly understood byv reference to the following description and the accon'ipanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a sectional view through a piano action including the pneumatic action and the hammer action;

Figure 2 is a detail sectional view through the pneumatic action showing the parts constituting the special features of these improvements separated from the valve and pouch board support;

Figure 3 is a section taken about on the plane indicated by the line 3+?) of Figure 2 with parts assembled; and

Figures 4L and 5 are detail views of a finger fiange embodying my improvements.

Like reference numerals indicate corre-` sponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawing.

Referring to the drawings, I have depicted in Figure l the general action mechanism of a player piano, including the hammer action designated generally by the reference character A. and the pneumatic or player action similarly designated B. The latter will be first more specifically describe-dr because it is to this mechanism that the features of my invention most largely apply. yThe numeral l refers to the Valvey board in which the valve ports 2 are provided andy the usual valves 3 are mounted therein for coaction with said ports. The numeral et designates the pouch board and 5 the intermediate lining through both of which the lll air passages 6 lead to communicate with the pneumatics 7 through the ports 8 of the latter.

On the inner edge of the pouch board is formed the .dove-tailed rib 9 which constitutes the essential feature of these improvements because it is upon this rib that I slidingly mount the finger flanges l0 carrying the fingers ll which coact with the wippens l2 of the hammer action. The flanges l0 are, of course, provided with a dovetailed recess l0 to conform to the rib 9 and the advantage of this interlocking jointresides in the fact that the flanges may be mounted upon this rib in the general assemblage of the action for subsequent adjustment to predetermined positions as may be ascertained when the type or make of instrumentv to which it is to be applied is determined. Heretofore these actions have been constructed with a plain or rectangular rib and the preliminary assembling of the flanges can not be accomplished with such a construction, the rib functioning merely as an aligning means and general support when the flanges are glu-ed or otherwise fixed thereon.

In so far as fixing the flanges in position in these improvements is concerned, I do not desire to be confined to any particular means or method for this depends upon the material employed. If the parts are mad-e of woo-d they may be fastened to the ribs 9 by glue or screws, and if the latter the flange is drilled with an opening to receive a screw l1 as shown in Figure 5 of the drawings, but where said parts are made of materia-l such as set forth in my companion case hereinbefore referred to, the fixing method therein described consisting of the application of a solvent to the contacting faces of these parts accomplishes the desired result.

The next important feature of my invention resides in the mounting of the pneumatics 7 Such that theyV may be positioned in accordance with the positioning of their coacting fingers. To this end the upper or relatively stationary plate 7 is provided with an annular conical boss 7 which is designed to be seated in a correspondingly formed seat 1l surrounding the end of the air passage through thepouch board. This form of joint makes it possible to swing the pneumatic into an angular position wherever this is necessary to make it accord with the adjustment of the finger flange which is superposed with relation thereto. The pneumatics are fixed in the adjusted position in any desired manner as described with relation to the fixing of the finger flanges.

It will be appreciated from the foregoing that the manufacturer of the player action may prepare or make his pouch and valve board to any desired scale, drilling the ports and air passages therein without regard to the particular make of piano to which the mechanism may ultimately be applied. `He may further assemble the finger flanges and pouches in position upon the pouch board and when an order is received from a piano manufacturer it is only necessary for him to apply the scale stick for such manu` facture-rs instrument to the pouch board and proceed with the fixing of the movable parts including ythe finger' flanges and the pouches. The player action is then in con` dition to be supplied to the piano manufacturer and directly applicable to that manufacturers instrument. AS an alternative, the manufacturer of the player action may supply the piano manufacturer with the action without fixing the assembled parts in the manner above referred to, leaving this latter operation to the piano manufacturer. By virtue of this arrangement the manufacturer of the player actions may very materially increase the quantity of his production and may maintain an ample stock supply so as to promptly furnish the demand for these action instrumentalities.

ItV will be apparent that in the hammer action of the piano itself theprinciples of the adjustment of theparts may be carried out by the use of the interlocking connection of the various flanges with their rail supports so that even the hammer action may be constructed and assembled for coaction with the piano strings of a particular make piano. It is believed to be unnecessary to specifically describe the piano action other than to mention that the various flanges designated 13 are mounted upon their respective rails let by an interlocking joint of dove-tailform. It should be further understood, however, that I do not wish to be confined to the use of a dove-tail.construction as the rib may be variously formed in an equivalent manner such that the parts wouldbe retained or supported slidingly in position upon the rib.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent is:

l. In a piano action, a support, hammer actuating instrumentalities, and means adjustably connecting said instrumentalities tothe support which are adapted to be fixed to accord with a particular scale.

2. In actions for musical instruments of the class described, a flange support7 and a flange adjustably mounted onsaid support and adapted to be fixed to accord with a particular scale.

j 8. A pneumatic player action unit including a pouch board, andfinger flanges slidably mounted on said pouch board.

1l. A pneumatic player action unit including a pouch board, finger flanges slidably lll) mounted on said pouch board, and pneumatics adjustable With relation to the pouch board to accord With the adjustment of the finger flanges.

5. A pneumatic pla er action unit including a pouch board, finger'flanges slidably mounted on said pouch board, and pneumatics angularly adjustable With relation to the pouch board to accord with the adjustment of the finger flanges.

6. A pneumatic player action unit including a pouch board, finger flanges, and an interlocking connection intermediate the finger flanges and the pouch board sustaining said flanges thereon and permitting their movement relative thereto.

7. A pneumatic player action unit including a pouch board, finger flanges, an nterlocking connection intermediate the finger flanges and the pouch board sustaining said flanges thereon and permitting their movement relative thereto, and means for securing said flanges at their adjusted positions.

8. A pneumatic player action unit including a pouch board, hammer actuating instrumentalities adjustable on said board and comprising pneumatics, and aligned ports in the board and pneumati'cs, said pneumatics being adjustable about the axis of said ports.

9. A pneumatic player action unit including valve and pouch boards having valves mounted therein and air ports and passages therethrough, a dove-tail rib upon one of said boards, finger flanges slidably mounted upon said rib and adapted to be fixed in relation thereto, and pneumatics each having a port communicating with an air passage of' the pouch board, the entrance to the air passage being provided with a beveled seat and the port of the pneumatic being provided With an annularly tapered boss forming an interlockingjoint with the board about Which said pneumatic may be pivotally swung.

In testimony whereof I aiiX my signature.

JOHN T. RYDBERG. 

